In the maintenance of hard surface floors a variety of power-driven implements have been utilized to facilitate scrubbing, cleaning, and polishing of relatively large areas. One popular machine for such maintenance work is a rotary scrubbing/buffing machine. Such machines generally include an electric motor, a handle extending at an angle upwardly toward the operator from a motor housing, and a scrubbing, polishing, burnishing or buffing disc attached to the motor drive shaft beneath the motor. Commonly the entire weight of the machine is supported by the rotating disc, the weight of the machine providing sufficient force to cause effective engagement of the disc with the floor surface.
In recent years, disposable abrasive scrubbing pads have become popular cleaning accessories. These pads are typified by the "SCOTCH-BRITE" brand scrubbing pad, a trademarked product of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. Such scrubbing pads are generally disc-shaped, having a thickness on the order of two to three centimeters. A mounting hub mounts the pad coaxially to a drive disc which is driven by the motor shaft. Typically the scrubbing pad has a center hole which engages a collar of the mounting hub, the hub having a retaining plate which is detachably mounted to hold the scrubbing pad in place.
Commonly, however, the scrubbing pad can only be replaced by substantial manual manipulation of the mounting hub, e.g., by removing a variety of screws or bolts which hold the mounting hub together, twisting of attachment lugs, etc. This procedure is time-consuming and inefficient, and the parts of such mounting hubs are prone to fail after extended use and misuse.